1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hinges for a folding seat back and, more particularly, hinges having an angularly shaped pin and/or a partitioned spool for a rear seat back.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, the installation of seat back frames to a vehicle is a difficult and costly process. In a typical installation process, a center pivot bracket is bolted to the floor of the vehicle and the seat back frames are then bolted to the bracket for pivoting. Because this assembly process takes an undesirably long period of time to accomplish, the process imposes an additional manufacturing cost. Moreover, the installation of a rear seat poses an ergonomic burden on the line worker. In a typical seat back installation, the seat trim and the foam portions can obstruct the view of the line worker, which results in a blind attachment assembly operation. This blind attachment can substantially slow the vehicle assembly process and increase manufacturing costs. In addition, to accomplish the assembly process, the line worker must enter and exit the vehicle multiple times, further slowing the manufacturing process as well as increasing the risk of injury.
One attempt to address the ergonomic issues of the seat back installation process is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,612 issued to McDonald et al. McDonald discloses a pivot bracket assembly used to install seat backs. The bracket assembly includes a hinge mounted on the vehicle floor. The hinge includes two spring biased cam latches. The cam latches are spring biased to remain in a closed position until a force is exerted upon them sufficient to overcome the spring bias. The pivot bracket assembly also includes a set of pins mounted at the bottom of each seat back. To install the seat backs, a line worker must simply position the pin of the seat back over a receiving cam. Then the worker simply exerts enough pressure on the seat back to force the pin of the seat back to open the cam latch. Once the pin is inserted into the slot of the cam, the cam latch will close thereby securing the seat back to the vehicle.
One of the drawbacks of such a system lies in the realm of safety concerns. In such systems, the seat backs are typically affixed to the vehicle using bolts. In the event of a rear end collision, heavy objects in the vehicle trunk may be forced against the seat back, and bolt attachments tend to effectively prevent these heavy objects from intruding into the passenger cabin of the vehicle. However, the installation of these bolt attachments raise ergonomic issues at the plant where the vehicle is manufactured. Accordingly, it is desired to have a hinge assembly that addresses one or more of the above-mentioned issues.